VANDAL NOTES: QB Wood settling in, O-line taking shape as Vandals find their footing

Aug. 15—MOSCOW — On the 14th day of Idaho football's fall camp Friday, the Vandals took their training to the outdoor practice field. Throughout camp, senior quarterback Joshua Wood has looked increasingly comfortable in the offense that he'll be asked to lead this season. Under second-year head coach Thomas Ford Jr., Idaho has spent the first couple weeks of camp building identity on offense, centered around new offensive coordinator Ian Shoemaker's system and Wood's ability to command it. Ford said that Wood has been "phenomenal" throughout fall camp, and pointed to his attention to detail, improved footwork and a growing understanding of what Ford and Shoemaker have envisioned for the offense. Plus, we'll look at the offensive line starters, with their depth, and how this year's camp feels fundamentally different for Ford in these Vandal Notes: Joshua Wood's development in a new offense The most crucial player at any position on the Vandal offense is Wood. His season could make or break Idaho's success this year. With that being said, he is entering more of a leadership role with a brand-new offensive scheme, with Shoemaker stepping in as the Vandals' OC. Ford called Wood a guy who is going to show up early and stay late. After last year's 4-8 season, he believes Wood had a poor taste in his mouth, feeling he could have done more to help Idaho be more successful. "I know that his development since (then) has been incredible," Ford said of Wood. "He's obviously an incredible leader. He's a super talented athlete. But what I've really noticed throughout fall camp is just his attention to detail, his improvement and his footwork, and his true understanding of what coach Shoemaker is trying to do when he calls any given play, and so I think that understanding, the ability to make plays, is going to be a difference maker for us." Wood said earlier in the offseason that there is a big emphasis on explosive plays in this new offense, and on Friday he said that those have been showing throughout all of fall camp. Wood explained that he feels like he is capable of being the "very best" of what he wants to be under Shoemaker. "(I feel) very comfortable," Wood said. "I mean, the playbook I know like the back of my hand, so it's just being able to be that comfortable in the offense and being able to take control of everything, so it feels great." Wood said he enjoys working under Shoemaker and that the offensive coordinator is very thorough and comprehensive when working with the offense. "He's great. He communicates, (he's) very detailed and he's going to take control," Wood said. "He's going to make sure everyone's listening, paying attention, and very detailed into the orientation of how the offense needs to be on what concept and what route." Ford said the offense has made great progress and is "inching towards what we want." "The guys, I think, conceptually have started to really pick up what we're trying to do," Ford said on Thursday. "Now it's all about handling the wrinkles. How can we handle all the stuff that is the nuance, like we talked about this week? Just really getting better at the little things and intricacies in the offense." How do they iron out those wrinkles? Study, film, meetings, install, walkthrough — basically everything, Ford said. Offensive line taking shape Starters are not set in stone quite yet across multiple positions, but the offensive line is starting to come together for the Vandals. Five guys have appeared just about every series with the No. 1s, although Ford said there are eight or nine guys who could see playing time. Those five standouts includes senior left tackle Howard Stedford, senior left guard Tyler Skinner of Moscow High, senior center Layton Vining, junior right guard Leon Evans and senior right tackle Kiegan Henson. Ford mentioned three of those players — Vining, Skinner and Henson — as having some of the best camps in the trenches. Ford called Vining "Steady Eddie." The center stands 6-foot-2 and weighs 285 pounds. "Sometimes you forget he's even in there because he just doesn't really make a ton of mistakes," Ford said. "He might be the smartest football player I've ever coached, and so having his leadership and his ability to be so consistent I think is huge at center." Henson, from Meridian, is 6-5 and 290 pounds. "He's had a really, really good camp," Ford said of Henson. "He's really tried to improve his physicality throughout camp." Skinner stands at 6-4 and weighs 306. "And then hometown guy Tyler Skinner," Ford said. "Tyler Skinner is really having a great camp as well. But like I said, we probably have four or five other guys that I'm not mentioning that really are going to make a difference for us." After practice on Thursday, Ford said that the plan is to travel 11 offensive linemen with the team for road games and trying to figure out those final spots is crucial. "(I) feel really good about kind of those top eight guys, maybe nine guys that could all play," Ford said. "And (offensive line coach, Loren) Endsley, I think, has done a great job of giving those guys different groups. You're not always going to play the same five, but like he says, we're trying to play as a nickel, not five pennies." A fundamental difference from last year's camp On the first day of camp, Ford said that last year was like a crash course. He said when he got the job in January 2025 he was trying to hire a new staff and trying to get 30 or 40 players out of the transfer portal in a very quick manner. The second-year head coach said a lot of it felt like "drinking through a fire hose." He said that practice has finally felt like practice this year, rather than worrying about something they may have missed, and that preparation feels better and easier. Ford said that with the players, camp feels fundamentally different than last year. "I think this group of guys is just a lot more focused," Ford said. "We talked a lot about discipline over motivation, and I think what you're seeing now, you're in the 13th practice of fall camp. Everybody's sore, everybody's tired, but to have the discipline to come and do hard things when you don't want to is what we're all about, and I definitely think this group is doing it." Junt can be reached at 208-848-2258, tjunt@lmtribune.com or on X @TrevorJunt.